Enchanted Wizard
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Harry finds a demon about to die before the World Cup, and makes a contract. Now he has to deal with Dumbledore and the rest of his lackeys as he tries to survive the Tri Wizard Tournament. Harry/Mercurio
1. Chapter 1

He loved the Quidditch World Cup, even if it hadn't started yet. Still, he had this weird feeling something was following him. It wasn't evil, neutral maybe, but definitely not evil in nature. So, as his Gryffindor personality told him, he managed to escape the others and go for a walk alone. (He had to promise to come straight back and use a point me charm if he got lost, but he managed to have some alone time!)

So here he was, wandering the woods enjoying the relative peace and quiet. Finally, he turned.

And saw a light coming towards him. He wasn't really afraid of it, since he could sense it meant no harm. It stopped in front of him, and he held out his hand. The light was so warm, and yet fragile too.

_"Help me!"_

"How?"

_"Make a contract with me!"_

"Who are you?"

_"Please!"_

"Fine."

A paper came out of nowhere, along with a quill. Taking the quill in hand, he signed his full name, noticing it was written in his blood. But he felt no pain, only a mild twinge.

_"Thank you!"_

The light became a necklace, which settled around his neck.

"Can I at least know your name?"

_"Mercurio! Do you mind if I stay like this for a while? I barely have any energy left!"_

"Sure. Mind blocking my empath ability until you're ready to come out?"

Suddenly he felt his empathy slowly disappear. He breathed a sigh of relief, and headed back to camp. After the match, which he won a lot of galleons from the goblins after a mild bet, he settled in for a bit, and used his mind to speak with the one in the necklace. Since he was still up, he found out a lot about her and why she was stuck in a stone around his neck.

Mercurio was a demon, close to death. By signing the contract, he had saved her life...and bound her power to him. According to her, this made him a new Enchanter. It was while she was telling him about what an Enchanter was that the Death Eaters attacked.

He was the only one awake, so he was the first out of the tent. He was also the only one with normal clothes on, instead of his night clothes. Since he was separated from the others, and had apparently lost his wand, he stopped at a tree to figure out what to do.

Mecurio suggested heading to the workshop, until the attack was over. All she had to do was describe how to open the portal, and he went. Seeing all the tools, he asked her what each did, and how to use them properly. He was so interested that he lost track of time, and he found out that it was morning outside. Seeing no point in going back to camp, he opened the portal straight to the Burrow.

* * *

Mrs. Weasly was on a mother hen mode when she saw him. He let it all slide until the others arrived. Hermione had his wand, and was almost shrieking into his ears about how worried she was. He cast a wandless silencing charm and sighed in relief over the quiet.

It was night, and Mrs. Weasly was practically hovering over him all day. Ron wasn't any help either, hovering over him because he managed to ditch them all. (So he retaliated with an animated spider in his friends bed.)

* * *

Finally, around two in the morning, everyone was sound asleep...except for him. He used Mercurio to open a portal into the workshop, and from there to Gringotts. Time for some answers.

Before he even considered going to the bank, he went into a room full of clothes his size and changed. Seems the workshop had a sixth sense about it's master. He found clothes he liked a lot and put those on.

Blue jeans with extra pockets and a dragon engraved on the right leg (it moved depending on his mood, and was currently swirling around lazily) , a red shirt with gold hems, and a holster for his wand. His hair was held back with a silver headband, which covered his scar nicely. Looking in the large mirror, he noticed something.

His vision was blurrier than usual. Taking off his glasses to clean them, he noticed he could see better. He put his glasses on, and his vision got worse. Off, he could see very clearly. So he no longer needed glasses?

His sneakers fit him perfectly too.

Shrugging, he left the workshop.

When Griphook woke up that morning, the last thing he expected was for the Potter heir to arrive alone...and in muggle clothing. Usually he was either with someone, an adult, or the Weasly woman would use his key for him.

Then he saw how the boy arrived, the stone around his neck...and finally took a long look at his eyes. One green eye, one blue. And both held the sharp, clear color of jewels.

"New Enchanter? Do you have an instructor, Mr. Potter?" he said finally.

The surprised look said it all.

"In that case, follow me. Enchanters have their own entrance for the bank. But you will have to register for our files about the change in magic."

Potter followed him calmly, and without complaint. The boy was easily the goblin's favorite customer, if only because he treated them like intelligent beings instead of second class creatures. He was polite, friendly and kind. Which is why Griphook was seriously considering waiving the fee for registering.

Potter sat down and filled out everything, asking important questions about the forms. Griphook answered all of them without a hint of mockery. At least the boy asked the right things, instead of signing everything without looking at the papers.

Finally, with the last part down, he handed the papers back to the goblin. It was all in order, and Griphook filed them. Then he turned to the boy, who was patiently waiting.

"As a new Enchanter, you are automatically allowed to cast magic outside of Hogwarts. This is because the Ministry can't pick up your magic anymore, since the demons who make the contract are impossible to track. So long as you don't go showing off your magic in public, they won't bother you. It also means you are now classified as an adult, and are now in full control of your vaults."

"Vaults? I have more than one?"

Griphook looked at him sharply. Why was he so surprised? He should be getting statements each week about the amount in each vault, as well as properties!

"Have you not been notified each week?"

"I just thought it was the one. I had no idea I had more."

Now Griphook was suspicious. He had someone cast something on the boy, and discovered several mail diverting charms, suppression spells and a dark curse around his forehead...where the scar was. Potter paid the entire thirty galleon fee to have all of them removed. The curse was a pain until someone realized it was a horcrux.

When it was all said and done, Potter was sitting there a foot taller, with more magic than before. A lot more magic.

Finally, they got back to the new rules he had to follow as an Enchanter.

By the time he left the bank, Potter had gotten a card to withdraw funds without question, ordered the recall of all missing funds and items, and written a will, with the goblin clans as executor of the will.

But the most important thing he had done in his mind, was change his magical and legal guardian to Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

* * *

The usual rush to Diagon, and he already secretly ordered his books ahead of time. He was more interested in freeing Mercurio from the stone than the books. He even reclaimed the key to his trust vault (now moved to another location for supplies related to Enchantment) from Mrs. Weasly, though for some reason she was really reluctant to hand it over.

He grinned as he bought some desperately needed items, out of sight of the Weasly family and Hermione. Since the Enchanters had their own alley right off Diagon (and across from Knockturn) he went there first, for beginners books. Then he bought tools for Engraving (Mercurio mentioned she could Engrave better than she could Enchant) and things to make.

He met up with them again, and they apparently didn't notice he had vanished. Fine by him. He managed to get an owl off to Sirius, claiming he had a dream before they picked him up from the Dursley house. (Actually true, but he had a feeling what it was about, and it didn't actually worry him.)

At night, he had been in the workshop, with Mercurio keeping an eye on the time. She never let him stay up past three. The night before he left for Hogwarts, he finally tied the workshop to a house, specifically the Potter mansion he had found out about, the one with the stables.

He met with the house elves in charge, and had them find Dobby for him. Now that he could use magic freely, he wanted Dobby to come live with him. Dobby was thrilled, and he had his favorite elf bound to him. He ended up with another elf named Winky, who was once owned by Barty Crouch. (He found out from her that it was her previous master who had taken his wand at the match.)

She was so overjoyed at being employed by a prominent house that she became rational again. He had her and Dobby take care of the workshop, making a passageway for them to use at any time. The shop apparently could understand what he wanted, since it magically labeled tools and where they went. All the elves had to do was make sure the tools went back to where they belonged, unless he asked them otherwise.

Hermione and Ron were annoying him by sticking close to him on the train. It was a pain trying to escape them, but he finally managed it by enlisting the twins for help. He found an almost empty compartment, with the only person in there was a girl with blond hair and a magazine held upside down. Her wand was stuck in her ear, and she wore radish earrings.

Harry closed the door quickly, and locked it. He knew the two would come any time, and sure enough, he felt their presence outside the door. He was under the window, and unless they looked down they wouldn't spot him. The girl didn't act out of the ordinary, and they left.

He sighed with relief. The girl put down her magazine, and looked right at him. Her eyes were a gray-blue color and held intelligence.

"I hope you don't mind, but I'm sick and tired of them following me everywhere."

"You're Harry Potter."

"I am?"

"Have you tried to be anyone else?"

"I've been trying for two years to be a Jamie, but it didn't work out. You?" he quipped. (He really couldn't help that one.)

She beamed at him, pleased with his answer.

"I tried to be a Daria, but I couldn't pull it off."

"What's your name?"

"Luna Lovegood."

Harry felt the two return, and he stayed down. They tried the door, and left. He caught the voice of Ron saying the girl was nuts before they went. Luna apparently heard him, because she frowned.

"I don't think you're nuts. You seems sane to me," Harry said quietly.

She smiled at him, happy with how he treated her. Harry heard the two settle in the compartment next to theirs, and unlocked the door. Soon the two were talking about their summer, and then Luna commented on his necklace.

"What's the name of the demon inside?"

Surprised, he answered.

"Her name is Mercurio, though she prefers Engraving to Enchanting. I've been trying to bring her out, but I've had no luck."

"Have you tried channeling your magic?"

"You mean into the stone?"

"Yes."

"I don't think so. You think that would work?"

"It would be worth a shot."

"Would you like to hang out with me? I could use someone sane to talk to that won't freak out if I get good grades..."

Then they talked about the magazine her father worked at, and hit it off. Harry bought several snacks and shared them with her. He was really surprised when she got a frog card with his name on it. He also got Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Agrippa. Three extremely rare cards, that even Ron didn't have. Luna promised to help him get a subscription to the Quibbler, which actually had Enchanter info.

Mercurio took one look at the information and said it was completely accurate...and the Quibbler was the only Wizard magazine which even published Enchanter activities. According to her, the Ministry discouraged Enchanting and regarded it with suspicion.

* * *

Harry sat next to Neville, and avoided Ron and Hermione. (He actually went into the same carriage as Malfoy in an attempt to escape them.)

Because he avoided them completely, he accidentally bridged the gap between him and the Slytherin Prince. He chalked it up to him revealing that the hat almost put him in Slytherin first year, until he convinced it he didn't want that house. It was during a minor shouting match with Draco, and it shut the boy up immediately.

It also changed the relationship he had with the boy. Now Draco regarded him as a rival, instead of a Gryffindor idiot. Another side effect was that Snape quit harassing him. It lead to a distinct improvement in his grades.

So they were having a tournament for seventh years only? He groaned audibly, and Neville asked what was wrong.

"With my luck, somehow, someway, my name is going to be entered and I'll be stuck participating."

Neville and the twins showed disbelief at his statement, until he calmly pointed out how his previous years went.

"First year, I had to defend a stone which should never have been in the school from a professor who was possessed, getting past traps set by teachers. Second year, I was the one to kill the basilisk in the Chamber. Third year, I had to save my own godfather from Dementors, because everyone believed he was a serial killer."

The twins looked at each other, and realized he wasn't joking.

"If you do end up participating, we'll be behind you Harry!" said George.

Several others agreed to that, since he clearly was not looking forward to this. In fact, the odds he would be entered were very high, and the twins took advantage of it to lay down bets on whether or not it would happen.

(They ended up earning a thousand galleons total, because most bet Harry wouldn't be entered...or be picked. Harry won thirty because he bet he would be entered and picked.)

The Bulgarians were impressive, and he was mildly impressed with the French girls. He had finally succeeded in freeing Mercurio, and he privately thought she was far more impressive. Luna helped out by helping her stay in the Ravenclaw dorm with her. She fit right in, pretending to be a junior Engraver.

* * *

Harry had formed a new Golden team, leaving Ron behind after he cornered him, claiming he was after the glory and prize money by entering. Harry immediately defended himself, pointing out he had no need for the money, and had too much fame as it was. He had been against the tournament from the start, and several backed him up.

Ron refused to listen to reason, and said Harry was no longer his friend. Hermione distanced herself from both, simply by trying to get both to talk to each other.

It was during the weighing of the wands that Dumbledore started to become suspicious of Harry going off alone. And all because of an innocent-seeming stone at the base of his wand. It appeared to be a cut emerald, with star shaped facets facing outward, glowing in the night.

Everyone stared because it was obviously magical in nature, yet they had no idea where he found it! (In the workshop, and it was the last stone left.)

* * *

The first task was dragons, which he learned simply by asking Hagrid. Which prompted him to go wandering in the cave near the village...where he found strange stones. Gathering several, and leaving half of the stones there, he took them to his workshop.

Mercurio took one look at the stones, and immediately opened a door to a center for Enchanters to get them appraised. Her master picked out thirteen of them, and put the rest in a bag. They went through, and were greeted by Yamato. Harry had been training with the man for weeks, ever since she originally regained her physical form.

Yamato took half the stones from the bag in return for appraising them. The thirteen Harry had singled out he was allowed to keep, and he already had plans for them.

Each looked quite similar to a jewel, five were oval shape, three were rectangular, three were perfect orbs, and two were prism shaped.

Harry went back to the workshop after borrowing some books. He left Mercurio to Engrave some holdings in peace. And came back two days later with a device made purely from magic and modern technology.

Mercurio placed the holding device for a stone inside, and he picked out an orb shaped stone that was the color of a Lapis Lazuli. Carefully placing the stone inside, the device came alive.

"Mer, could you turn around? I want to get the fittings right."

She did as he asked, and felt him gently put the stone against her back. Interested, Yamato watched on. He had Mercurio channel her natural demon energy into the device, and was shocked when a pair of blue-silver wings came out! They were large and strong enough to lift her off the ground, and possibly carry Harry with her. She had a second fitting ready for him in an hour, and he used that one the next morning.

He had created a weapon for him to use, powered by a lightning based crystal. It would pretty much fry anything he shot it at.

He was fully prepared for the dragon, since he finally got the summoning charm down. Mercurio would carry the weapon with her to the stadium, and he would 'summon' it from her.

* * *

The day of the first task, and he was a bundle of nerves. Mer and Luna gave him a hug for good luck, as he stood in the tent. Picking out the last dragon, he nervously awaited for his turn.

Krum, Fleur and Cedric had each gone. Mer would tell him the scores once it was over, in the meantime he had to survive long enough to test his new weapon. It was his turn, and he walked out as calm as he could.

That thing was huge! And they expected a fourteen year old to get past it? Thinking quickly he yelled "Accio Bow!"

(The weapon Harry made was a bow, which used the energy of a demon stone to shoot arrows. Depending on the stone, different arrows would be formed. He planned to alter it later so it could shoot at least four different arrows at once.)

The bow came out of the stands, and he grabbed it in the air. The crowd was silent, wondering what he planned to do with it, since he obviously had no arrows to shoot. Remembering his lessons with Paracelsus, he channeled his magic and energy into the bow itself.

He drew back the string, keeping the bow aimed at the horntail. If there was one thing he knew, he was a natural archer. His years as a seeker proved that. Pure lightning formed into an arrow, and he leveled it calmly. Releasing the string, the bolt flew true, hitting the horntail right between the eyes. Everyone watched as lightning danced along it's body, and it fell, paralyzed. Knowing it wouldn't hold that thing long, he dashed into the nest and grabbed the egg he needed.

A stunned silence surrounded the arena...then they students began to roar with approval. He made it into the tent with a minute to spare, as the dragon slowly got back up. It looked very pissed off. The dragon handlers promptly caged it, and made sure it couldn't do any damage.

Mercurio, Luna, Neville and surprisingly Hermione came into the medical tent. Madam Pomphrey gave Harry a clean bill of health, despite the fact that he had just channeled lightning into a useable form. He grinned at them, and Mercurio told him the scores.

"You're in first place! Your weapon impressed them so much even Karkaroff gave you an eight! All the others gave you a ten!" she said happily.

He smiled, relieved. He worried that the Ministry would recognize his item as Enchanted.

* * *

The party in the Gryffindor common room was huge. Mer and Luna were there, having fun. Imagine the lion's surprise when Draco showed up, invited by Harry himself! Ron gaped, and demanded to know what a 'slimy snake' was doing in the lion's den.

Harry turned to him with a very Slytherin smirk on his face.

"Well Ronald, unlike a certain red head I will not name, Draco was honest about how he felt from the start. The only reason we have been trading hexes from first year is because you insulted him on the train."

Ron tried to claim he was still Harry's best friend, until he took away his pretty lies.

"Ron, you never were my friend. You were only around for the fame you would get by hanging around me constantly. Hermione is still my friend, but not you. She at least helped when she could."

Hermione beamed at him, pleased with his praise. Ron was gaping like a fish, almost as if he was seeing Harry for the first time.

"I don't need your hypocrisy or lies. On one hand you claim to be superior to muggles and even muggleborns. On the other hand you think you can justify being prejudiced to creatures who have every right to exist with us, like Centaurs and goblins. It's disgusting and I have had quite enough of this."

He had everyone's attention. He was making a lot of sense, and was going to bring their pretty lies down upon them. But he felt it would have a greater impact if he did this in the great hall, where everyone could hear him.

Personally he was quite proud that he had told Ron to go away without once raising his voice. So once the party died down, he went to sleep.

He woke up the next morning, prepared to cause chaos. The twins couldn't be more proud, as he secretly told them what he planned to do. He even gave them a mirror (which connected directly to Sirius in the cave outside the village where he found the demon stones) so the old dog could enjoy the show.

It was time to bring the lies crashing down.

Ron was the key, as he attempted to mend his friendship with Harry again. Harry had counted on the fact that his former 'best friend' was so dense you had to shove facts down his throat for him to get it.

And it all started with Ron asking why Harry was with Mercurio all the time. She wasn't even from his house!

Thinking about how Mercurio described the demon contracts, he grinned widely. Sure he couldn't form the usual contract for at least another year or two, but that didn't mean what he said was any less true.

"She's my girlfriend."

Apparently everyone heard that, because several people gasped in shock. (A certain meddling old man was quietly cursing in his mind at this new information.)

"Is she even a pure blood?" sneered Ron.

Mercurio did not like his tone, and she glared at him. He took it to mean she wasn't, and smirked.

"She is, actually. But not in the sense you're thinking of," Harry said cheerfully.

Which is when he took the chance to bring Ron's perceptions of how things were crashing down.

"First off Ronald, pure blood does not make you a better wizard. Pure blood only means your family has been so inbred that you bring more squibs or near useless wizards into the world, because of your bigotry. No offense Fred and George."

"None taken!" yelled Gred. (The twins were actually enjoying the show.)

"In fact, most of the things you claim are fact are just pretty lies you use to delude yourself into thinking you are better. Like the Centaurs and werewolves being half breeds. Centaurs have a clearer understanding of how our solar system works, and how to read the stars. They only talk cryptically because that is how they perceive our world. Werewolves are victims of circumstance, unless they are particularly idiotic to go seeking one on the full moon."

Now Ron was gaping. What the hell was he talking about?

"Goblins are more financially oriented and are deserving of respect, and house elves put up with enough crap from idiots who think they are slaves. Muggles are not without magic, they just have levels too low to be of any use. And most Muggleborns are in fact descended from squibs who were banished because their natural magic doesn't conduct through a wand like ours. I bet even Filch has magical potential, which is probably how he always knows when students or Peeves is up to something."

Everyone was raptly listening in, as Harry really drove the point home. Now he was criticizing the Ministries laws, and everyone felt he was making a genuine point.

"Another point is that the Ministries underage magic laws are useless, since they are so prejudiced that when a muggleborn defend themselves with magic, they are punished unfairly. Pure bloods on the other hand, are treated with leeway so it was no wonder that they view themselves superior. But...muggleborns are clearly better in several ways, and your ignorance is ruining the world. Like the fact that you lot probably don't know that there is no air in space, or that we have been to the moon already!"

Harry continued like that for fifteen minutes, and actually changed the attitude of most of the purebloods.


	2. Chapter 2

It was his worst nightmare. He had to dance in front of the entire school, and he had no idea how to waltz! At least he had a decent dress robe to wear, unlike Ron. His outfit was ghastly. And he knew Mercurio wouldn't hold it against him for being a bad dancer. She even said she would teach him to dance!

Luna offered to help Mercurio find an appropriate dress to wear (Harry offered his workshop so they could pick one out. Since it seemed to adjust depending on who was in it, it worked out.)

When they came out, Luna walked up to Draco (who opted for the crazy Ravenclaw instead of the Pug-like Pansy from Slytherin) wearing a low cut deep blue dress, a crescent moon necklace (silver with diamonds), and green snakes eating their tails for earrings made from silver and emeralds. Her hair was up in a tasteful bun, held in place with an old hair piece, probably her mother's. A single strand of hair curled around her face, with a gray ribbon entwined in it.

(Needless to say both boys were completely surprised by the change.)

Mercurio skipped up to Harry in an elegant red and blue dress with straps holding it up around her neck, which highlighted her eyes. It had an opening that went down from her knee to her ankle, revealing fashionable shoes that looked very comfortable. They were in red and gold, with blue straps holding them on. Her earrings were wings with silver and blue entwined in each feather. Her hair was held up in a ponytail, highlighting her eyes. It was kept up in a red and dark blue ribbon, with rubies, sapphires, topaz and diamonds in the weave. She also had a raven and lion bracelet around her wrist.

Harry realize his mouth was open, and he quickly closed it. Draco went in ahead, since Harry had to go in with the other champions.

(Personally he thought it sucked he had to wait.)

The doors opened, and he walked with confidence, despite being nervous about dancing. At least thanks to Mercurio he knew he wouldn't look like a complete idiot. She was an excellent teacher. Taking her hand and her waist, they began to dance.

It turned out he had the best date, since Hermione was with Krum, who was a bit heavy with his feet. (He could tell immediately that Hermione was doing everything she could to avoid her toes being stepped on.)

Ron had Lavender Brown, who Harry was privately surprised was even still in Hogwarts, let alone a fourth year. (Between her and Parvati Patil, they had the ditzy girl routine down pat. Neither liked studying either.)

Draco and Luna had fun dancing, to their surprise. It seemed Draco was enjoying his date better than he would normally.

Fluer was dancing with Davis, though he had his eyes on other places instead of her face. Fluer was doing most of the work, and Harry actually felt sorry for the girl. Everyone fell under the Veela charm long before they could actually get to know her and turned into idiots.

Cho and Cedric were moving like a well oiled machine at least. They were meant for each other.

Finally they stepped outside for some air. Harry turned to his date and smiled.

"You look amazing Mer," he said.

She beamed at him.

"Luna helped out a lot. She said my usual outfit would have been too revealing for the teachers."

"The prudes," said Harry in good humor.

So they talked in the gardens, and when Mercurio saw the strange beetle, she grabbed it and sent it to the workshop. Eyebrow raised, she smiled.

"Animagus. From your description I think it was Rita."

Oh yes, Harry did NOT get along with the infamous Rita Skeeter. He actually cast a wandless hex to destroy her quill before she had the first word out.

"I don't like quick quote quills. I think they are useless."

She was not happy, as the article proved when it came out. Not that Harry cared, but when he saw the bit about Mercurio, he was annoyed.

So he owled the goblins who forced the Prophet to write a retraction and send a real reporter who would write the actual facts. She was really mad at him for that.

But apparently she never got the message, since she was now going after him with a will. So now he had a furious witch after his hide.

The ball ended on a high note, with a picture of Luna, Draco, Harry, Mercurio, Neville and Ginny courtesy of Colin Creevy. Harry sent a copy to Sirius, who absolutely loved Mercurio. Since he was hiding out in the cave, Harry and Mercurio went to see him every Hogsmeade weekend. Harry even gave Sirius a key to the workshop, so the man was at least getting fed regularly.

* * *

The second task was mermaids. If it weren't for the fact that Mercurio could hear differently from humans and actually recognized the screeching, he never would have figured it out. So he spent a full week every night in the workshop, trying to create something he could use underwater. It took him ages, until he finally gave up in defeat. None of his stones would allow him to breathe underwater. Fly, shoot fire, or release huge demons, but not breathe. Finally, he turned to the one thing he did to relax when he was really stumped.

He wondered what his former friends would do if they knew the mysterious Hecate Painter was him.

There was an on going bet on who the painter was in the inter house betting pool, and he wasn't even in there. He often left his finished works in the hallway and forgot about them, since he only made them to relax. Most of them were now hanging in the houses, found by random students who took a liking to them.

(He was mildly surprised that three hung in the Malfoy Manor, two in Longbottom and a small one in the Burrow. And they were his best works. It didn't hurt that they moved like the portraits at Hogwarts.)

Taking his favorite Enchanted paintbrush in hand, he put paint to easel. He made this item so his works would move. It had a secondary feature that he had yet to figure out how to use. Personally he suspected it brought whatever he painted to real life.

So he started painting a fish's tail, long and detailed. It was a luxurious emerald green with sapphire hints around the edges. The tip of the tail was a mixture of shark and dolphin, and had a distinct dorsal fin. On a whim he added his upper body to it, with mild gills behind the ears, which were more hinted at than anything.

Funnily enough, he could actually see this happening in his mind's eye. Him, swimming through the Black Lake with the tail and everything. It would certainly help with the second task. He could even see the retractable claws he added to his nails.

Tapping his wand with his left hand to the painting, he was shocked to see it absorbed into the wood! He then noticed the gem on the bottom glowing, and he had a feeling this was the secondary function of the brush.

It used the demon stone on his wand as a catalyst to bring his paintings to life!

At least now he didn't have to worry about the lake. Just the merfolk. He put his wand back down, and painted a new scene. Thinking back to the crazy knight that lead to the Divination tower, he created something he could fight. He put the finishing touches to it, then waited for it to dry.

It was hung next to the knight's painting the next morning. He was so thrilled he promised to keep Harry's secret from the students, as he went to do battle with the Chimera.

* * *

The second task...and he was already upset that they had kidnapped Mercurio and sent her into the lake with the others. Taking his wand out, he waited for the signal before diving in. He tapped his side with the stone, and felt it come to life as he took on the aspects of the painting. His legs became the tail, his gills were behind his ears, and his nails grew into claws.

He grinned, able to breathe! On a whim, he swam deeper, then burst out of the water showering the headmasters with the freezing muck. The twins roared their approval at the trick.

Harry swam deeper into the cold depths, and saw the grindylows attack Fluer. She was forced to the surface, unable to continue. Seeing the merfolk ahead, he went faster.

His tail and fin made the water feel like he was in the air, cutting through currents like they were nothing. He spun around the extended spears, and saw the ones taken. Looking at his watch, which could just handle the depths, he saw that it had been thirty minutes since he went in.

Cedric and Krum had been behind him, so they could get their student without his help. He did take the little girl though, since Fluer would be unable to. He used his tail, and with four powerful strokes, he broke through the surface. The girls gasped, and held onto him.

He used his tail to steer them to the platform, and when they were safely on it, he brought out his wand and tapped the fin.

The stone absorbed the tail and everything else, leaving him freezing his ass off in the water. Madam Pomphrey immediately gave them the pepper up potion and a warm blanket. Harry looked to see his scores, and found he was still in first place. Only Karkaroff gave him a nine, and that was probably because of the stunt he pulled with the muck.

He knew that the only reason Maxime even gave him that ten instead of a seven is because he saved one of her students, even though she was technically Fluer's goal. When asked why he saved the girl, he said flatly "No one should be stuck in that bloody cold lake longer than necessary. Besides, I don't trust Dumbledore to bring her out if someone else didn't get to her in time."

He was immediately hailed as hero of the Gryffindor house...and Hufflepuff forgave him for stealing their glory when he said loudly that any points he earned from the tournament should go to the Puffs.

In his words: _"I never asked to join, and they were chosen as the legitimate champion. Any points I get should go to the real champion of Hogwarts and his house. I don't need them."_

Cedric was surprised, but thanked him for his honesty. All in good spirits of course, since he was in second place behind Harry.

* * *

The third task was a maze, and he knew something bad was going to be waiting. So he began working immediately on close range weapons with Mercurio's help. His personal favorite was the summoning device which would bring out a Cerberus with flames around it's paws. It's tail was forked, and had flames along it.

He called the thing Hades as a joke. Apparently it really liked him, because it listened to him every time he brought it out. It was given a chance to roam in the workshop provided it stayed in it's smaller form (size of a bear).

He really didn't want to fight anything. So he figured out how to use the secondary function of the brush to his advantage. He even figured out how to use the thing without his wand.

He had a demon stone placed inside a bracelet around his wrist, which Mercurio made for him personally. He let her chose which stone to use. And she picked out a blood red ruby colored stone which held a fiery horse like demon.

It was placed in a gold bracelet with runes (found in an Ancient Runes textbook) for health, protection and strength in battle. His favorite brush was in his left hand, and though he normally couldn't paint that well with it, it was still useable.

Aside from the death of Crouch Sr, everything was almost prepared. All he had to do was deal with the maze.

Hermione, Luna and Mercurio wished him luck, as he went into the cavernous depths of the maze.

Seeing nothing so far, he took the plunge, and went in a random direction. And encountered a huge snake.

_'Sorry, wrong turn,'_ he hissed.

_'A speaker! Where are you heading?'_

_'Center of the labyrinth. It alright if I pass?'_

_'The center is to the left and then take a right at the second fork. The first fork you just go straight. Watch out for the creature that feeds on fear and fears laughter. And the upside down area.'_

_'Thank you for the advice, honorable serpent. I wish you luck in all your hunts.'_

The snake was pleased with his words, and even gave him a name to summon him with. Micheal was an interesting name for a snake.

Sure enough, there was a boggart at the first fork. He thought of a joke he remembered reading and started laughing.

(_All I want to do is go home and take a bath with my rubber ducky. My rubber ducky is my friend._ John Taylor, Unnatural Inquirer by Simon R. Green)

The boggart dispersed in a cloud of sparkles, and he found the upside down area at the second fork to the right. He kept on walking, and used the point me charm to find out which path to take.

And found himself in front of a rather large and worrying sphinx.

After solving the riddle, which was actually easy, he cheerfully talked to her for about five minutes. She was surprised, but delighted he stayed around, at least until he heard Cedric cry out in pain ahead of him. He respectfully bid goodbye, and helped the Puff escape the large Acromantula.

If he had never met Mercurio, he would have convinced the seventh year to grab the cup with him. But ever since the death of Crouch, he been having this weird sense of foreboding doom. So he told Cedric that any glory he got for winning would go directly to the Hufflepuff house, since either way it was a Hogwarts win.

Cedric agreed, since he believed Harry. Harry cheerfully bet the Puff fifty galleons that the cup was a port key that would lead him into another problematic situation. Cedric accepted the bet with good humor, as Harry grabbed the thing.

And started cursing when Harry was whisked away from the maze, still holding the cup. When the officials came in, all he would say was that Harry had rigged the bet. He had a feeling the boy would come back in an hour anyway.

* * *

He really despised that traitorous rat. Knocking him out and taking his wand was more than enough to spoil his mood. The ceremony was ridiculous, and he resisted the urge to mock the Dark lord for the snake like appearance.

Voldemort had come back to life. Whoopee.

He was let go, and his wand returned after the Death Eaters arrived. Seemed the dark tosser wanted a show before he killed him. If it was a show he wanted...

Harry smirked, and popped out the yellow contact lens. Now he could see clearly again, with both eyes shining in the moonlight. He put his wand away, knowing he would never match the idiot with spells. He replaced the wand with his brush, and began to paint rapidly on a tombstone.

He created a blood red dragon with sharp talons and vicious fangs. Touching the stone to the painting, he channeled his magic into it, and it came to life!

He had created it, this boy who was it's master. Larger than even the horntail, it was far more impressive than it's real life cousins. He curled protectively around his master, who was pleased with it.

Seeing the snake who was a man, he breathed his deadly breath, a mixture of fire and lightning. The humans avoided him, and he went on a rampage. His master brought out a blue kin, this one with the power of ice and wind. Between them, the humans were on the run. Blocking a sickly green curse, he protected his master. Finally, he saw his master hex the snake man at the same time as another green curse.

Phoenix song filled the air, and the souls of the dead came out of the snake man's wand. His master touched both of them quickly, then grabbed the cup which had landed him there. Both of them were taken into the stone, to be called later.

Cursing as he landed, he stared at the crowd of cheering students. Seeing Dumbledore, he glared at the old man.

"Were you aware that damn thing was a port key?" he growled.

Which lead to him describing what happened, and the Minister's disbelief. He had a feeling that they would be condemning him by morning, all because he happened to mention the dark moron was back. Not his problem.

Moody turned out to be the culprit behind the whole fiasco, and before the dementors got him, Harry hexed him good. Dumbledore tried to take Hedwig, for security reasons, but Harry slipped her into the workshop by acting like he wanted to at least say goodbye to her alone.

The old goat fell for that bit easy.

* * *

He boarded the train, with the Puffs congratulating him on winning. Since Harry had given them all his points, he had helped them win the house cup for the first time in fifty years! He smiled, saying they earned it. Seeing the twins, he smirked.

Tapping Fred on the shoulder, he handing him the thousand galleon prize. They gaped at him in shock.

"I know you two are planning a joke shop. Consider this your start up cash. I'll even be your silent partner in crime."

Fred and George looked at each other, then clapped Harry on the back, proclaiming him their partner in the business.

"By the way, why don't you ask Sirius about some pranks you can sell? I'm sure Padfoot would love to help out!"

He left them with their jaws dropped, and laughed all the way to the compartment where Draco, Mercurio and Luna were waiting.

* * *

His trip back to his own personal hell was worth any trouble the old goat would give him for slipping Hedwig away.

He even had a promise from Draco that the boy would owl him if anything interesting happened.

Mercurio decided to hide inside the jewel around his neck.

Finding out about Harry's home life was upsetting for Mercurio. No wonder he spent so much time training or in the workshop.

Still, when the aunt and uncle locked him out because he was behind the cousin in getting home, he usually shrugged it off and went straight to the workshop, after making sure no one saw him leave. He knew the old man was having him followed, after the fifth time the old cat lady down the street invited him for tea.

He wasn't that oblivious. So he asked Mercurio to open a portal to Gringotts, if only to find out what was happening in the world. His cap hid him from everyone, and he was just another student meeting with friends.

He found that Fudge was smearing his name using the Prophet, trying to discredit the headmaster, claiming that Voldemort wasn't really back.

All in all, highly informative.

Since he was there, he went to the owl emporium to buy a second, smaller owl. Hedwig was far too noticeable. This new one was tawny like Remus, and had Sirius' blue eyes. He called it Marauder, for kicks.

He then wrote Sirius a letter saying he would be somewhere safe hiding from Dumbledore's lackeys. He never said where he was going to hide though.

* * *

In the Bone Doc's house...

Surprised to see Harry and Mercurio, he listened to the boy's story before deciding whether they could stay or not.

Harry convinced him with three stones he had appraised earlier. That, and he promised to cook for him.

Paracelsus was happy to let Harry read his books, since he sheepishly admitted to the man his current track record at the hospital wing.

So he checked Harry over, and found several worrying things.

Harry was almost severely underweight, had scars on his back that were very deep, clear indications of basilisk venom still in his blood, several poorly mended arm breaks on both arms, a slight limp that was almost impossible to notice, and his head had a rather large dip.

"Harry, were you abused?" he asked finally.

He stiffened. Mercurio heard his question and spoke up. She mentioned the atmosphere at the Dursley home and he scowled. When she brought up the headmaster and the supposed blood wards, he was not happy at all.

"Blood wards are powerful, but severely limited. And since that ritual you mentioned used your blood, they are completely useless. At most they will protect you from minor dark creatures now that the dark idiot has your blood."

Harry cursed.

"I knew the old man was lying about those wards! If he thinks I'm going back now, I'll hex him good! Maybe some nasty boils will tell him I'm serious!" he growled.

A loud tapping was heard, and Harry saw it was an owl...his new one.

Mercurio opened it, and Harry ran a mild finite incantum to get rid of spells. It hissed, revealing it was a port key.

Reading it, he saw that Sirius was worried and wrote something to the man. He also saw a slip of paper with the words: **The Order of the Phoenix can be found at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. **

Harry suddenly smirked.

Turning to Paracelsus, he said "Want to come stir things up?"

Now it was his turn to smirk.

"You planning to go there and cause trouble?"

"I think Dumbles will be there."

Paracelsus brought Lavoix with him, and they took a portal to Gringotts.

* * *

Thinking back to the paper, Harry knocked on the door with the others.

Mrs. Weasly opened it and went into mother hen mode, version two. She didn't actually notice Paracelsus and Lavoix. But Moody and Dumbledore did.

"Who are these people Harry?" he asked kindly.

"And you are?"

Harry smirked, "That is the meddling old goat. Feel free to _talk_ to him, provided I'm allowed to be in the same room to witness it."

"He the one who placed you with _them_?"

"Yup."

For some reason, Dumbledore had a foreboding sense of imminent doom. Three pairs of angry eyes were looking at him, and one pair of amused ones beside them.

"Just so you know, anything that arrives by owl or normal post will be subject to a strong finite incantum charm before I even think of touching it. I don't want a repeat of the tournament."

Moody thoroughly approved of that measure. He then took in the boy's clothes, and the holster at his right side, close to his hand. His wand was obviously in there, ready to draw quickly. He was wearing sneakers perfect for running in, his jeans were close fitting and good for mobility, and his shirt was form fitting but loose enough to move easily. Harry Potter was ready to fight or take flight.

"This is a friend and colleague of mine, Adolph. He specializes in medicine mostly. The lady is his assistant and girlfriend Lavoix. Anger her at your own risk. This is my girlfriend Mercurio."

Harry was completely calm about being in the presence of two people they had never heard about. Dumbledore took one look at Adolph's eyes and his own narrowed.

"You are an Enchanter are you not?"

"Indeed. Harry is a good friend of mine. I particularly like his enchanted brush."

Seeing their confusion, Harry gave them all a Slytherin smirk, and popped out a contact in his right eye. A sapphire blue and emerald green eye looked at them. Sirius let out a bark of laughter, as he was the first to figure it out.

"Mercurio isn't just your girlfriend is she?"

"Bingo! I see you figured it out finally."

Harry turned to Dumbledore, and glared at him.

"I have had enough of your meddling for one lifetime. I am legally an adult now, and you no longer have any say on where I live. If you attempt to send me back to the Dursley family, I will simply level it to the ground. Am I clear?" Harry's voice was cold.

Mrs. Weasly was taken aback by his tone, and tried to chastise him.

"Excuse me ma'am, but Harry should absolutely not return to that house, particularly because of the atmosphere."

Clearly Dumbledore suspected something about him, because he tried a tactic to drive him out.

"How do we know that you can be trusted? You may have plans for Harry that are inappropriate."

Harry couldn't hold back the incredulous laughter from spilling out. Mercurio was snickering too. Confused, Dumbledore turned to the man...who had become a set of bones.

"Do I really look like I could possibly do THAT to anyone? Besides, I have Lavoix for that."

"His nickname within our group is Bones for a reason!" gasped Harry, still laughing. Mercurio giggled.

That shut them up pretty quick on that front. Since Harry was legally an Enchanter (and therefore able to do whatever the hell he damn well pleased, within reason) they couldn't exclude him from the Order meetings. The twins were uber jealous about that.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry finally found out what they planned to do about Voldemort. And he scoffed at how half hazard they went about it. Even Paracelsus was surprised that the wizards survived this long, with all the laws they made that would lead to ruin easily.

"I'm shocked that they aren't killed off yet."

"I'm waiting for them to discover how to shoot with a gun. Maybe then I'll finally have some peace and quiet about this boy who lived nonsense," Harry admitted.

Sirius briefly mentioned a prophecy, and Harry snorted.

"Let me guess, it claims that I have to be the one to kill off the dark moron. Who the hell would believe such bull?"

All eyes fell on Dumbledore, who shifted uneasily.

"That explains the poor choice in placement for an infant," said Adolph.

(Adolph had told Sirius, Snape, Remus and the headmaster exactly what living with the Dursley family had done to Harry's health. Now the old man didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to where Harry lived.)

Finally, after an hour of talking, Harry snorted.

"Honestly, if all you need is reinforcements, you could have just asked me to make some. I can create weapons, reinforcements and shields with ease. All I need is someplace to paint and room for them to stand."

Seeing the disbelief in many of their eyes, he brought out the brush. The amethyst colored stone glinted as he used the paint on the table to create what appeared to be a phoenix made purely from ice (he based it off of Articuno from Poke'mon).

The room temperature dropped as Harry touched the table with his bracelet, and the bird came alive. It fluttered around the room before finally settling on Adolf.

Snape looked at the bird closely, and something clicked.

"You! You're the one who keeps leaving those blasted paintings around the bloody castle! Do you have any idea how many times I have tripped over those accursed things?"

He just set off the boy's laughter.

"I make them, but I have no plans for what happens after. Congratulations Professor, you have discovered the secret identity of Hecate Painter!" cackled Harry.

Remus chuckled.

"Hecate Painter..._HP_. I can't believe no one realized it sooner!"

"It was pretty obvious. Personally I'm surprised my name wasn't in the running for the culprit."

"You can paint?" said Sirius in surprise.

"I think I can also take away the life of a painting. Why?"

Sirius immediately showed him the portrait of his mother...Harry smirked, and brought out some turpentine.

"If I hear your shrieking any more, I will use this to remove your mouth. Am I clear?"

She obviously didn't know what it was, so Harry took out a normal brush and swiped it against the mouth. Blissful quiet reigned in the hallway. The other portraits saw what he did and clammed up.

* * *

Between the cleaning, watching and apparently a trial at the Ministry for some reason, Harry was ready to shoot something...preferably the headmaster.

He didn't bother studying the law books, since the charge was for underage magic. The only good thing was that the damn trial was set three days after his birthday. Though he had absolutely no clue what Mercurio had in mind for a 'present'. (Sirius saw her look and decided to have a talk with Harry the day before.)

Harry was still blushing from the tips Sirius had given him, seeing as he was NOT planning on 'that' until next year! (Oh how such plans are derailed by a demon who loves her master.)

Still, at least thanks to Mercurio being his _'girlfriend' _Sirius decided to fore go the _'talk'_ about how to keep girls from getting pregnant. Thank Kami for that! (Once Harry had been introduce to the Shinto religion he had been hooked. It was far more appealing than the ones around England.)

The party was enormous, and he knew he saw Sirius and the twins spike most of the drinks. He had a nice buzz going after his fifth cup, not that he cared. He was definitely holding in the liquor better than Ron, who was flat out drunk and trying to kiss Snape! (He casually walked over to the twins holding a suspicious camera and said flatly _"I want copies of that or else."_ The twins cackled and they struck and unholy alliance.)

It was on his ninth cup that he decided to quit drinking the punch, he didn't want a nasty hangover in the morning (like Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Sirius were going to have, if the amount they had drunk was any indication) and he went to bed. No wonder he was sleepy! It was past two in the morning. He heard Mrs. Weasly yell at the twins and Sirius once she finally tasted the punch and realized it was spiked and the party finally died off.

Thank kami Harry had his own room instead of sharing with Ron. He didn't want to hear him whine in the morning. Paracelsus was back at his workshop for the night, since he was officially Harry's roommate.

Lying back, he didn't notice Mercurio enter the room. If he had seen her eyes he would have shivered. There was a reason they called them demons...

* * *

Harry made a mental note to thank Sirius...once the hangover was gone. Because of Mercurio, he had made their contract official, and more importantly permanent. He had seen the look in Dumbledore's eyes, and he knew the old goat would try and break the contract.

Now there wasn't a chance in hell of that happening. He got his supplies ready to make his godfather a weapon, or at least something he could do to alleviate the boredom he was feeling.

He had already read through most of the Black library, and was absolutely bored.

So he did the one thing he loved to do. Not seeing his friends (more like annoying stalkers at this point) he brought out a fresh easel, his best brush, and turned up the lighting. With each stroke, the painting grew more detailed and alive. (He had inquired the potions-master about his animagus form and what it looked like. Snape was so drunk he never knew he said anything.)

He was in the middle of painting when he felt a presence behind him. The gasp told him who it was immediately, though it still startled him enough that he had to jerk his hand back to prevent ruining it.

Hermione had found him, no doubt to harp on him again about preparing for the trial. She was livid that he wasn't the least bit concerned and still wanted to know why.

"Harry? Since when...?" she sounded confused.

"Oh come on Hermione. You are the brightest witch of our year and you never figured it out? Think for a moment about the famous Hecate Painter for a moment. It should come to you," said Harry in annoyance.

He went back to painting, putting more details in.

"You? You're the one who's been leaving those pieces out for the students to find? Why?"

"I paint them to relax. I don't exactly plan on doing anything when I'm done, and it seemed like a waste of time if they collected dust. So why not add some class to the place?"

"Why didn't you ever tell us?"

"And have you two ruin my peace and quiet with your bickering? I have to enlist the twins just to escape you both! Hell, the only reason I even found that I liked painting was because you were petrified second year and I wanted some time to think."

Hermione looked affronted.

"Besides..." Harry finally stopped for a moment and turned to her, a shit eating grin on his face, "This is an easy way to trick Slytherins into emptying their bank account while remaining anonymous."

Now Hermione was plain annoyed.

"I should tell Ron."

"Do that and I swear I will never trust you again. I do know the memory charm you know," he said, eyes narrowed.

Hermione saw the look in his eyes, and knew he was dead serious. Why did Harry keep this a secret when he was easily a master painter?

Harry saw the look.

"I paint as a hobby and to relax, like you do when you read. I don't want people to bother me for paintings. It's bad enough I happen to be the boy who lived, but a master painter? I would never get any peace."

Harry put the finishing touches, and waited for the paint to dry...and it to come alive.

It was a series of animals in a beautiful glen, with tall oaks, rowans, holly and ebony trees. There was a scraggy mutt with stunning blue eyes, a proud stag with mischievous hazel, a wolf with kind amber, a tiger with beautiful evergreen...and a falcon with calculating onyx. On a whim there was a second stag, with horns almost grown with emerald.

It didn't take her two guesses who each person was, except the falcon.

"Which is the falcon?"

"Talon...and from what I can remember, he was the only Slytherin who bothered to visit. He was a friend of mum's."

Slytherin and a friend of Lily Potter...it clicked.

"You actually painted Snape?" she looked at him in disbelief.

Harry looked at her amused.

"Why not? He has every right to be in the picture, unlike the rat."

(He had no idea Snape was listening to every word, and was stunned silent. He made a note to ask Harry if he made duplicates.)

"Harry, why aren't you preparing for the trial? It's tomorrow!"

"Because the Ministry doesn't have a leg to stand on, which they would know if they ever bothered to actually LOOK at the paperwork."

Hermione was still miffed he wouldn't tell her why he wasn't worried.

* * *

Harry was wearing his best robes under the large muggle clothing, and once he was in the Ministry he would remove the large tee and sweatpants.

Unknown to Mr. Weasly, Harry had received what most would believe to be a Guild Badge of sorts. It wasn't. It was an official mark of an Enchanter, in case they encountered someone with two different eye colors who hadn't made a deal (rare but it does happen). They mostly gave it to those who worked in the Magical world alongside the Enchanter.

On the badge were certain markings in 'Common' tongue, which Harry was still learning. (He was rather proud he could at least read what was on the badge without help.)

Harry's badge marked him as a year two Enchanter, with a ranking according to the complexity of his best or most used Enchanted Item. (Harry was ranked the same as Adolph for his brush, which was a highly advance Enchanted Item combined with the magic. It would be higher, but it was his second year.)

It even had the name of the demon he made the contract with, and her power level (along with Enchantment type) under his name.

It was created to change depending on his power level and experience.

Harry kept it under his robes to keep people from staring more.

Instead of sitting in the chair (which he most certainly didn't trust with those chains. He's seen the damn things move in the pensieve!) he stood, bored. Fudge was clearly annoyed by that, and read the charges. Something about him using the patronus charm in front of his stupid cousin.

Before he could say anything, Harry interrupted him.

"You have got to be bloody joking. That's what you're charging me with?"

The simpering toad made his skin crawl as she tried to seem superior. Harry quelled her with a look, and glared at Fudge.

"First off, the charge is completely redundant, as the Statute of Secrecy would not apply in that situation to begin with. I have never used magic at home, and even if I did, my _family _is already AWARE of magic, since I have been living there for the past fourteen years. Second, I haven't been in that damn neighborhood for even a week before staying at my current instructor's house, which happens to be in Japan. And third, even if I HAD cast the charm, your ridiculous tracers sure as hell wouldn't have picked up on it."

Fudge was furious. How dare the boy try to show him up in HIS Ministry! Amelia Bones looked at Harry shrewdly.

"What do you mean by that, Mr. Potter?"

Harry raised his hand and popped something out of his right eye. It was a muggle contact, yellow in color. He then lifted something out of his robes and handed it to her.

"I already registered and notified the goblins about the change in status a day after I signed the contract," he informed her.

She took one look at the badge, tapped it with her wand and confirmed it was real. She handed it back, and looked at Fudge, clearly irritated that he wasted their time.

"This trial is a farce. Mr. Potter is cleared of all charges and should be left alone by those with...less savory intentions."

"What makes you believe you can do that?" roared Fudge.

Amelia Bones raised her monocled eye, and gave him a quelling look.

"Harry James Potter has become a second year Enchanter, and as such is not bound by the restrictions of Under age magic. His argument concerning the Patronus charm is valid, as his cousin would already know of magic as they share the same house. And the only reason he would even have cast the Patronus charm is to defend from Dementors, in which case he would be cleared for using his magic in an emergency situation."

Harry gave the woman a formal Japanese bow, "Thank you Madam Bones for seeing reason."

* * *

Before Harry left the Ministry, he lied to Mr. Weasly about needing to pick something up. Enchanter business.

Instead he pulled out his brush, made an older copy and had it go pick up the forms for an apparation license. While he did that, he found someone from the Department of Mysteries and asked how to retrieve a prophecy.

His luck was in, as the person he asked happened to be from that part of the department. He lead the boy to the shelf with his name, and Harry took the prophecy and left a fake one in it's place. Seeing the raised eyebrow, he grinned.

"It's a delayed prank in case the other guy tries to take it."

Apparently the guy had a sense of humor, because he snickered.

Harry caught up with Mr. Weasly, took the papers, and they left.

The party was once again, enormous. Harry stopped Sirius from spiking the drinks again, and pulled him aside, smirking.

Sirius, who recognized a Marauder smirk anywhere, went with him and said "What did you do? You look like your father when he pulled one on McGonagall."

Harry held out the orb, and Sirius was floored.

"How?"

"Side trip to the Department of Mysteries while I was there. Had to lie to Mr. Weasly, but it was worth it. Left a fake in it's place."

Sirius started howling.

"What does the fake say?"

Harry started snickering.

_**"Your eyes are tacky, your clothes reek, and your name is a joke. If this is the best you can do, then obviously you have no taste or real power. A squib would be scarier than you, love the boy who just won't die."**_

Sirius was on the floor, howling with laughter. Remus walked in, wondering what Sirius was up to. He saw the orb and his jaw dropped.

"I switched it while I was there."

Remus shook his head, and they went back to the party.

* * *

He was back on the train to Hogwarts. Not before convincing Sirius to at least wear a dog collar reading "Snuffles"...at least that was what he told him it said when he put it on. It really read _"World's biggest prankster"_.

Sirius had no idea why the twins were snickering each time they saw it. Until he got home that is. (He later sent a Marauder prank via mail and got Harry back. Harry's hair turned Slytherin green for a week.)

Draco couldn't believe how easily Harry had gotten off. All he had to do was show some badge and they let him go?

Harry saw the looks, and grinned.

While he was wandering the castle, he found an unused corridor...and a painting he had only heard rumors about.

The lost portrait of Founders. Time had not been kind to it, the paint was peeling badly. He opened a portal and took the painting off the hook, taking it with him to the workshop.

Naturally they were curious about him, and he told them all about the world as it was now while he repaired the painting. Not only were they horrified at how bad it had become, but they were disgusted with the headmaster. Forcing a child to live in a magic hating home?

While he was repairing the painting, he had an idea for a new one. One that would allow the Founders to escape and talk to students.

So before he put the painting back, he took out his Enchanted Brush and began to work.

Everyone was excited when Hecate Painter left four new portraits, each for a specific house. What had the Hogwarts rumor mill going full tilt was how he had gotten them into the houses when he clearly only belonged to one.

(Later investigation by the teachers revealed someone with an Enchanter badge had used the Founder's Way into each house.)

Ravenclaw students could be found chatting with the portrait of Athena, or a very good likeness of the Greek goddess...who revealed she was in fact Ravenclaw herself! (The biggest clue was that instead of the owl on her shoulder, it was replaced with a Raven. That was the main thing that threw the Ravenclaw students off at first.)

Hufflepuff students absolutely adored the painting of Hera (Hufflepuff) in the Common Room.

Gryffindors could be found trying to impress Zeus (Godric) with tales of daring.

Slytherin students could be found around the painting of Hades (Salazar), plotting with help.

The Founders loved the fact that Harry compared them to gods, and were more than happy in showing him how to put their personality and knowledge into the paintings.

Now if only they could do something about the Umbitch.

* * *

She was sitting in her ghastly office full of kitten plates, sipping tea happily. Her mission was simple. Find out which students were loyal and which weren't. If they were, she would make their lives easy. If they weren't...well her special quills would sort them out.

Now to take care of the Potter brat...how dare he humiliate the Minister!

* * *

Harry was not looking forward to the first defense class of the year. Even though Mercurio had been placed under the sorting hat (since she only stayed in the Ravenclaw dorm to keep their secret for the year) and put in Gryffindor, he had been feeling off all week.

Mainly because he had heard things about the woman who would be teaching them. On the plus side, Snape had agreed to leave him alone for the year provided he leave his paintings somewhere where he wouldn't trip on them during rounds.

(Harry knew it was because the first house to receive his newest creation was Slytherin, and the Slytherins love how he depicted their founder.)

So here he was, waiting for what he knew would be hell to occur. And he wasn't disappointed. Umbitch (as he already thought of her) was a simpering toad who's main goal seemed to be creating anti-Ministry students.

She didn't look happy when he pointed out that fact. Everyone else sure did, if the snickering was anything to go by.

He hoped Adolph would help him survive whatever she tried to pull during detention. He was Madam Pomphrey's new helper along with his demon. (The main difference was that he didn't mind Quidditch as much as the nurse.)

Harry could be found clutching his hand, cursing like a sailor. He portaled to his workshop and went looking for the kit. He knew it would come in handy, but he never expected to use his brand new healer's kit so soon!

Damn that pink toad and her quills!

The next morning he could be found in the hospital wing, asking for his hand. Paracelsus took one look at it and gave him a look.

"Pink bitch in charge of defense."

Madam Pomphrey wanted to know what happened, and he explained about the quills. Her resulting shriek was more than enough to make him wince.

"SHE DID WHAT? THOSE QUILLS ARE RESTRICTED!"

Then Harry was hit with inspiration.

* * *

He headed to McGonagall and explained his thinking. When she came back after classes, he cheered! No more useless defense class for the entire year! If he passed his OWLs with an Outstanding, he would have the choice of taking the class from now on!

Now all he had to do was survive Yamato's training sessions. And study like mad.

* * *

He and Mercurio spent their defense classes in the lab, working on a project. So far they were doing fine, but they hit a snag.

They needed a new kind of power for it to work. But where would they get it?

Harry was frustrated. He was trying like mad to bring his paintings to real life, permanently. If he pulled it off, it would bump his Enchanter ranking up to at least the same level of Fulcanelli.

He leaned back, and felt something poke him. It was really uncomfortable. Reaching back, he pulled out...an orb? What was with the fog? It didn't look like a divination crystal, so...

He hit himself. It was the damn prophecy!

He put an ear to it, and listened to the words, without breaking it.

When he finished, he sighed. So he had to off the Dark Twit. Great. Now he at least knew why Dumbles put him in that hellhole.

Strange, what was the energy he felt pulsing from the orb. He turned to Mercurio.

"Hey Mer, what kind of energy is this thing emitting?"

Mercurio looked it over, careful not to drop it.

"Looks like Diviner's Wave. Is this the ball that was causing you all that trouble? The one you switched?"

"Yeah. I wonder..."

Harry took out his beloved brush, and painted some symbols all around the orb. It began to glow, and something shot out of his brush.

It was the dragons he created during the fight in the graveyard!

They flitted around the room, happy to be out again. Harry was just glad he put on size limiters along with summoning spells. He really didn't want his workshop ruined.

Both dragons landed on them. The red one took refuge on his shoulder, the blue on Mercurio. Harry remembered the elements each commanded, and finally came up with names for them.

"Blue, your name will be...Frostgale. Red, you'll be Flamestrike."

Harry brought out the brush, and began to create a third dragon. This time it was yellow and green, with red and blue streaks in the scales.

When he was finished, the new dragon came out, powered by the prophecy which ruined his life.

"You can name this one Mer. She has wind, earth and water attributes."

The new dragon looked at her expectantly.

Mercurio thought for a moment, and grinned.

"How about Uzamaki?"

"Whirlpool? Mer, you haven't by any chance been reading my Naruto collection again have you?"

Mercurio looked sheepish. Harry thought a moment about the name. In a way it suited her. The Naruto could control wind, his last name was water related, and he lived in a village with earth ties.

"Uzamaki it is."


End file.
